Highlights on football recruiting

88.5% 2016 NFL Draft picks played multiple sports in high school

The 2016 NFL Draft had the highest percentage of high school multiple sport athletes drafted since 2013. According to Tracking Football research, 224 out of the 253 (88.5%) draftees had also participated in a sport other than football during their high school career.

Track & field was once again the most participated sport by NFL draft picks. Tracking Football’s Player Athletic Index score is an athletic analytic that factors height, weight, position, and track & field data to evaluate the raw athleticism of football players from 0.0 – 5.0. The 2016 draft class average PAI was 3.6 / 5.0, up from 3.4 / 5.0 in 2015.

Player Athletic Index score breakdown:

5.0 PAI: 11 (4.3%)

4.9-4.0 PAI: 35 (13.8%)

3.9-3.0 PAI: 64 (25.3%)

2.9-2.0 PAI: 29 (11.4%)

1.9-1.0 PAI: 3 (1.1%)

There were more than twice as many draftees that played 3 sports than those that specialized in football during high school:

Football Only: 29 / 253 (11.5%)

2 Sports: 144 / 253 (56.9%)

3 Sports: 74 / 523 (29.2%)

4 Sports: 6 / 253 (2.4%)

The 3rd round had the highest percentage of draftees that played another sport:

Round 1: 26 / 31 (83.8%)

Round 2: 31 / 32 (96.9%)

Round 3: 34 / 35 (97.1%)

Round 4: 36 / 41 (87.8%)

Round 5: 30 / 36 (83.3%)

Round 6: 38 / 46 (82.6%)

Round 7: 29 / 32 (90.6%)

Defensive linemen and defensive backs had the highest percentages of draftees that played multiple sports: